Philosophical And Methodological Debates In Public Health

This interdisciplinary volume gathers selected, refereed contributions on various aspects of public health from several disciplines and research fields, including the philosophy of science, epidemiology, statistics and ethics. The contributions were originally presented at the 1st Barcelona conference of “Philosophy of Public Health” (5th – 7th May 2016). This book is intended for researchers interested in public health and the contemporary debates surrounding it.

Public health is once again becoming a major political and social issue in the 21st century, especially in relation to issues such as vaccination, the threat of pandemics, bioterrorism, smoking and obesity. A diverse set of theoretical ideas have emerged recently in the legal, political, bioethical and philosophical fields that could usefully be applied to these and other issues in public health. This book provides a much needed introduction to some of the relevant philosophical concepts and arguments that might be used to build a philosophy of public health. Consisting of both theoretical contributions and case studies, this multidisciplinary collection of essays will both inform and generate debate among academics, policy makers and practitioners about these important issues in public health.

Population health has recently grown from a series of loosely connected critiques of twentieth-century public health and medicine into a theoretical framework with a corresponding field of research—population health science. Its approach is to promote the public’s health through improving everyday human life: afford-able nutritious food, clean air, safe places where children can play, living wages, etc. It recognizes that addressing contemporary health challenges such as the prevalence of type 2 diabetes will take much more than good hospitals and public health departments. Blending philosophy of science/medicine, public health ethics and history, this book offers a framework that explains, analyses and largely endorses the features that define this relatively new field. Presenting a philosophical perspective, Valles helps to clarify what these features are and why they matter, including: searching for health’s "upstream" causes in social life, embracing a professional commitment to studying and ameliorating the staggering health inequities in and between populations; and reforming scientific practices to foster humility and respect among the many scientists and non- scientists who must work collaboratively to promote health. Featuring illustrative case studies from around the globe at the end of all main chapters, this radical monograph is written to be accessible to all scholars and advanced students who have an interest in health—from public health students to professional philosophers.

In comparison to medicine, the professional field of public health is far less familiar. What is public health, and perhaps as importantly, what should public health be or become? How do causal concepts shape the public health agenda? How do study designs either promote or demote the environmental causal factors or health inequalities? How is risk understood, expressed, and communicated? Who is public health research centered on? How can we develop technologies so the benefits are more fairly distributed? Do people have a right to public health? How should we integrate ethics into public health practice? The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Public Health addresses these questions and more, and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising 26 chapters by an international and interdisciplinary team of contributors, the handbook is divided into four clear parts: Concepts and distinctions Reasons and actions Distribution and inequalities Rights and duties The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Public Health is a field-defining and sustained reflection on the various ethical, political, methodological, and conceptual aspects of global public health. As such it is an essential reference source for students and scholars working in political philosophy, bioethics, public health ethics, and the philosophy of medicine, as well as for professionals and researchers in related fields such as public health, health economics, and epidemiology.

"A groundbreaking approach to critical epidemiology for understanding the complexity of the health process and studying the social determination of health. A powerful critique of Cartesian health sciences, of the flaws of "functional health determinants" model, and of reductionist approaches to health statistics, qualitative research and conventional health geography. A consolidated and well sustained essay that explains the role of social-gender-ethnic relations in the reproduction of health inequity, proposing a new paradigm with indispensible concepts and methodological means to develop a new understanding of health as a socially determined and distributed process. It combines the strengths of scientific traditions of the North and South, to bring forward a new understanding and application of qualitative and quantitative (statistical) evidences, that looks beyond the limits of conventional epidemiology, public and population health. The book presents alternative conceptions and tools for constructing deep prevention. A neo-humanist conception of the role of health and life sciences that assumes critical, intercultural and transdisciplinary thinking as a fundamental tool beyond the limiting elitist framework of positivist reasoning. A most important source of fresh ideas and practical instruments for teaching, research and agency, based on a renewed conception of the relation between nature, society, health and environmental problems"--

"Theory. Traced to its Greek roots, "theory" means to see inwards; to theorize is to use our mind's eye systematically, following articulated principles, to discern meaningful patterns among observations and ideas (Oxford English Dictionary [OED] 2022). The implication is that without theory, observation is blind and explanation is impossible"--

This volume is a core text for those studying public health and health promotion across a wide range of health and social care disciplines.

This book is a novel contribution to academic discourses on the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and how it has impacted societies globally. It proffers an overview on the social development and political measures, from both the Global North and Global South, to prevent COVID-19's spread. It illuminates major social, political and economic challenges that already existed in different contexts and which are also currently being amplified by COVID-19. Curiously, this global pandemic has opened spaces for different actors, across the globe, to begin to fundamentally question and challenge the hegemony of the Global North, which sometimes is evident in social work. Linked to the foregoing and while reflecting beyond the pandemic and into the future, the book proposes that social work must become more political at all levels, and strive to transform societies, global social development efforts, and economic and health systems. This contributed volume of 38 chapters discusses and analyses ethical, social, sociological, social work and social development issues that complement and enrich available literature in the socio-political, economics, public health, medical ethics and political science. It provides various case studies which should enable readers to gain insights into how countries have responded to the pandemic and learn how COVID-19 negatively impacted countries in different parts of the world. This book also provides a platform for the articulation of neglected and marginalized voices, such as those of indigenous populations, the poor, or oppressed. The chapters are grouped according to three main themes as they relate to research on the COVID-19 pandemic and social work in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America: Analysis: Social Issues and the COVID-19 Pandemic Strategies and Responses in Social Work: Globally and Locally Outlook: Looking Ahead Beyond the Pandemic Intended to engage a global, diverse and interdisciplinary audience, The Coronavirus Crisis and Challenges to Social Development is a timely and relevant resource for academics, students and researchers in inter alia Social Work, Philosophy, Sociology, Economics, and Development Studies.